Lions Winners and World Cup Scores on Your Cellphone

MediaCom, Nokia Team Up for Free Service at Cannes Ad Fest

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For some avid fans heading out to the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival this year, more important than the advertising winners are the winners on the soccer field. Thanks to a service from MediaCom, they will be able to get updates on both during the weeklong event.
Texting 'LionsRoam' or 'LionsPlay' can get ad execs either World Cup scores or Cannes festival updates.
MediaCom and its client Nokia will offer a free mobile service at the 2006 Cannes Advertising Festival that lets users get updates on both the festival and the World Cup.

"We do this kind of thing for our clients all the time," said Kari Jackson-Kloenther, marketing director, MediaCom. Launching the service at the event will let the company "show off what we can do, the kind of services that we offer," she said.

Text-messaging
The service can be accessed through two "tickers." Attendees can log in by text-messaging the code "LionsRoam" to a designated phone number to receive updates on festival schedule changes, reminders about seminars, winner announcements and other news, as well as chances to win Nokia products. A separate service works the same way; attendees texting "LionsPlay" to a different phone number can receive a goal-by-goal update on World Cup games. Information on registering will be distributed at the MediaCom booth, as well as in a delegate's welcome packs.

"Every single time a country scores, you see it right as it happens, even though you may be sitting in a seminar," Ms. Jackson-Kloenther said. "You will still be able to know what's going on."

The weeklong Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival starts June 18 and attracts about 10,000 delegates from around the world eager to see which of the 24,000 entries will be winners. This year, with the addition of Promo Lions, the number of competitions has grown to nine: film, press, poster, radio, cyber, direct marketing, media, sales promotion and an integrated award called the Titanium Lion.

The Cannes Ad Festival offers 39 seminars, as well as workshops and screenings. It's "not possible for everyone to do everything," said Terry Savage, Cannes Lions executive chairman, but something that makes life a bit easier at Cannes is "something we embrace."

Highlighting mobile technology
In addition to the "LionsRoam" ticker, further information and useful tools, such as Cannes activities and restaurant guides, and the full schedule and winners, will be listed on a website (www.lionsroam.com) available to all cellphones with internet or roaming capabilities.

This marks the first time that festival-goers can access agendas and updates on the festival via their mobile phones. The company hopes the service may encourage attendees to consider how to integrate mobile services into their own media campaigns.

Booths will be set up during the festival for registration, but anyone can sign up for the service, even those not in Cannes. Once the festival stops, though, so will the text messages, including those World Cup updates.